Parking Brake Not Disengaging

[The Eradicator]

Hello,

1985 4Runner parking brake not disengaging. It has been doing this for as long as I have owned it (one year). When you disengage the parking brake put it in reverse (does it going forwards too, but not as bad) it is very hard to get going. Earlier today I had to put it in low range on level ground in order to be able to back out of a parking spot.

When I pull the parking brake lever the cable on the rear axle gets tight, but when it is not pulled there is a lot of slack in the cable. I don't know much about drum brakes, but it seems like the lever that the cable attaches to on the backing plate should spring back to the disengaged position by itself. Here is a video to show what I am talking about:

Thanks

 

[ferg]

It's possible whoever did the rear brakes put them together wrong. There are supposed to be return springs on the backside of the backing plates. The shoes could also be installed incorrectly.

 

[KLF]

It's the bell cranks that pass thru the backing plates. Very common problem. They rust at the pivots and sieze. PITA to fix, about $100 in parts to fix both sides.

If you don't fix them and stop using your parking brake, the shoes will get out of adjustment and the rear brakes won't function properly.

 

[The Eradicator]

It's the bell cranks that pass thru the backing plates. Very common problem. They rust at the pivots and sieze. PITA to fix, about $100 in parts to fix both sides.

If you don't fix them and stop using your parking brake, the shoes will get out of adjustment and the rear brakes won't function properly.

That was it. Ordered this kit:
Amazon.com: Dorman 924-750 Parking Brake Bell Crank: Automotive


It is for 86-95 so the bellcrank arms were different, but the rest of the hardware was the same as that of an 85. I was able to clean up and reuse the old arms. 85 Bellcrank arms compared to 86-95:


I was able to use a press to remove the pivot pin on the driver's side assembly, but the other side was much more stuck. Trying to use the press on that side resulted in one side of the base block cracking, so I chiseled out the other side of the base block in order to get the arm out.


Put it all back together and adjusted everything. No more sticking parking brake. The parking brake works much better now too.

 

[KLF]

Yes, the bell cranks are different, and the later years also had the rubber boots around the cast pivots to try to protect them from rusting. Problem was, they actually held in water and could make things worse. What I would do (back when I still had rear drums) was make it part of my oil change routine: squirt a bunch of lubricant inside the boots (spray lithium white grease works well for this), then lower the spare tire and spray the heck out of the winch, then oil the door hinges.